4 - JESUS LIVES WITH PASSION
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Mark 12:29-31
What fires you up? What floats your boat? What turns your crank? What churns your butter? What stokes your flame? What revs your engine? What flips your switch? What primes your pump? What spins your cycle? What rocks your socks? What flies your kite? What flips your lid? What tickles your fancy? What stirs your pot? What melts your butter? What fries you bacon? What steams your broccoli? What makes your heart sing? What makes you cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?
You get the point, right? What are you passionate about? What motivates you?
Throughout His earthly life, Jesus had ONE driving motivation.
LOVE
In what has come to be known as the Great Commandment, Jesus is asked how we can live to please God. What’s the “greatest commandment?” What’s most important? In reply, Jesus puts the cookies on the bottom shelf where everyone can reach them. Simply put, LOVE!
LOVE GOD - LOVE PEOPLE
Yes, it really is that simple! Easy? No! But simple? Yes!
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength."
From what you know of the life of Jesus, from what you have read in the gospels or heard taught in church, how did Jesus demonstrate His love for God?
Jesus says that our love for God should be reflected in every area of our lives. Heart. Soul. Mind. Strength.
- What do you think it looks like to love God with all our HEART?
- What do you think it looks like to love God with all our SOUL?
- What do you think it looks like to love God with all our MIND?
- What do you think it looks like to love God with all our STRENGTH?
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Again and again throughout His earthly life, we read of Jesus longing to bring His Father glory, to please His Father, and to do ONLY what He saw the Father doing. His love for the Father was the driving motivation behind everything Jesus did, and He asks us to make love for God our driving motivation as well.
This motive has a second part to it.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus wants us to know that if love for God is our motive in everything we say and do, then we will also love people. It’s impossible to truly love God without loving people.
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:7-8
Here is a true statement:
“We love Jesus as much as the person we love the least."
Read that again. Let it sink in.
Do you agree with this statement? In what ways do you think our love for people is directly affected by our love for God?
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“This kind of love for others is impossible… without God’s love being in us and flowing through us to make it possible. The Apostle John put it this way:
“We love each other because he loved us first.
Apart From Him…
- Ask the Father to supernaturally fill you with His love today. The fruit of the Spirit is love…
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Walking As Jesus…
- Write an encouraging note for a friend today. Rather than texting your encouraging message, write a handwritten note and mail it!
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- My Personal Disciple-Making Plan:
Used with permission of Sonlife Ministries. To download the full version of the 40 Days of Disciple-Making Journal, visit: Sonlife.com.
